Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Citigroup currently has $87.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $56.00.

UPST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Upstart from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday. Wedbush raised Upstart from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler raised Upstart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Upstart in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Upstart from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.83.

Upstart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPST traded up $25.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.00. 39,961,516 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,792,123. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.62 and a beta of 1.97. Upstart has a 52 week low of $19.84 and a 52 week high of $82.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.40.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.22. The business had revenue of $127.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.55 million. Upstart had a negative return on equity of 32.01% and a negative net margin of 38.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.34) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Upstart will post -2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.42, for a total transaction of $51,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 343,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,261.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CTO Paul Gu sold 10,000 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total value of $400,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 894,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,794,106.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.42, for a total value of $51,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 343,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,261.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 312,959 shares of company stock valued at $13,724,175 in the last three months. Insiders own 18.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upstart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Upstart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Upstart by 125.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in Upstart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co acquired a new position in Upstart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Upstart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Upstart

Upstart Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform in the United States. Its platform includes personal loans, automotive retail and refinance loans, home equity lines of credit, and small dollar loans that connects consumer demand for loans to its to bank and credit unions.